‘Power Punch Broccoli’? New Names Spice Up Veggies

Rebranding these veggies as “X-ray Vision Carrots” or “Power Punch Broccoli” helps more kids eat healthy at school, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Journal Preventive Medicine, exposed more than 1,000 kids in seven New York elementary schools to lunchtime veggie choices with and without innovative names like “Silly Dilly Green Beans” or “Tiny Tasty Tree Tops.”

Students in the study ate twice as much veggies if they had new labels compared to veggies listed only as “Food of the Day.”

In the second part of the study, the proportion of students picking hot servings of veggies with special labels nearly doubled over two months. Conversely, in schools that didn’t display their veggies with new names, the percentage of students who selected a veggie serving went down by 16.2 percent.